Upper dental plate



Feb. 19, 1924; 1,484,344

w. M. SITKNBROUGH UPPER DENTAL PLATE Filed Feb .23 1922 flirt/I705Patented Feb. 19, 1924.

PATENT OFFICE.

UPPER DENTAL PLATE.

Application filed February 23, 1922. Serial No. 538,778.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM MoNELL STANBROUGH, a citizen of the UnitedStates, and a resident of Newburgh, county of Orange, and State of NewYork, have invented certain, new and useful Improvements in Upper DentalPlates; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, andexact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilledin the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention consists of the novel features hereinafter described,references being had to the accompanying drawing which will illustratethe method I use in one embodiment of the invention, and is selected byme for the purpose of illustration. My said invention is fully disclosedin the following description and claim.

The object of my invention is to provide a means of adjusting full upperdentures to meet the changed condition brought about by a resorption ofthe alveola ridge following the extraction of the teeth, and whichprogresses more rapidly after artificial dentures are placed in themouth. This change in the size of the tissue covered by the artificialdenture has been and is a source of disturbance to both the dentist andthe patient, resulting in a loss of the retaining powers. As theresorption or shrinkage progresses, the denture bears heavily upon themedian line of the hard palate resulting in a fulcrum at that pointwhich serves to tip the plate and results in destroying the valvularefiect desired and the seal being broken, results in gravity tending todrop the denture.

To meet and overcome this condition is the object of my invention, and Iwill describe some of the preferred methods I have employed inaccomplishing the desired results.

Figure 1 shows a cross section in a vertical plane through an upperdenture in place.

Referring to the drawing in detail, one means of meeting change in sizeof tissue supporting an artificial denture, which change increased thehearing at the hard palate A to an undesirable extent, has been met inthe past by cutting away a portion of the plate in contact with A bymeans of scrapers, files, burrs, or sand paper, and has resulted in anuneven removal of material.

To meet this change intissue size, which i always occurs to a greater orless extent,-1 is the object sought, and- I have accomplished it asfollows: g

I place two or more layers of pure tin upon the cast previous to packingwith vulcanite rubber to form an air chamber B. It has been the customto remove all the layers of tin, but I propose to remove only the layersthat are found desirable after being placed in service. Observation andstudy has made it plain that a socalled air chamber is not desirable,such a chamber in the palatine portion of a full plate results in thetissue being forced into the cavity which fills it, and such tissue isunhealthy and in a highly congested condition.

The plate not being in contact with the palate portion of the roof ofthe mouth, results in an undue pressure upon the alveola ridge O whichresults in a rapid resorption and loss of fit due to the breaking of theair seal D. It will be seen that if several layers of proper material beused, means will be at'hand to equalize bearing of the denture plate ina desired and beneficial. way.

Another means which I employ in my methods of constructing these upperdentures, is to make the tongue aspect of an upper artificial denture ofa metal such as gold or pure tin, or any approved alloy forming an airchamber in the usual way, but of larger size. -When the denture is beingfitted to the mouth, some substance such as gutta percha or otherapproved material may be placed in the recess and while still plastic,adjust it to the mouth. At a later date when the shrinkage has occurredand it is desirable to decrease the bearing upon the center of the hardpalate A in order to preserve the seal D due to shrinkage at C the guttapercha or other recess filling material may be heated and an adjustmentto the changed conditions made.

Another method of achieving adjustment of full upper dentures so thatthe changes in the alveola C incident to time and usage can beautomatically taken care of, is to cover the palatine portion of theplate with a soft metal of approved thickness such as pure gold, or analloy of any kind that would serve the purpose, suliiciently ductile andflexible to act as an adjusting means as shown diagrammatically at B thepalatine portion of said denture. This serves as an adjusting meansfitted from time to time to the shape of the hard palate; adjustmentmust be efiected between excessive pressure at A which causes rocking ofthe denture, and excessive pressure at G which causes rapid resorptionof the alveola ridge. The shape of the palatine portion of the platemust adapt itself or be adapted to changed conditions in the shape ofthe mouth resulting in benefit to both dentist and patient.

The art of full denture construction has reacheda higher plane and thepatient has better service from artificial dentures.

It is to be understood, and I do not limit myself to the means describedherein, but that the scope of my invention covers other means asembodied in the claim, and what I claim, is:

An upper artificial denture having in combination a plate, teethconnected therewith, a palatine portion comprising a composition core, aplurality of layers of metallic foil superimposed thereon, susceptibleof being severally removed by a scalpel or other instrument,substantially as and for the purposes as hereinbefore set forth.

In testimony whereof, I have signed my name to these specifications this18 day of February, 1922.

WM. M. STANBROUGH.

